Case study of human trafficking in nepal

This study actually is primarily concern on the issue of social vulnerability of the people from Nepal in the issue of human trafficking, by understanding the process and also the context of migrant smuggling. This paper will also focus on the different actions of the Nepal government from giving emphasis on their different projects, laws or even policies to lessen the susceptibility towards the human trafficking issue. The result of this study aims to provide a clearer perceptive of the stages and circumstances in particular with the sex trafficking and also to provide particular policies in order to make their laws or programs to be even better. The paper will also contain the different organization that helps the Nepal from fighting from the human trafficking or migrant smuggling like for example the United Nations (UN) and especially the participation of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and many more government or non-government organizations which aides the Nepal from coping to the social issue.

Background of Study

A. Introduction to the Social Development Issue

Nepal as also called the Kingdom of Nepal is listed as one of the poorest and likely to be part of the least developed countries in the world, pertaining with its almost one-third of the population which is living in a below poverty line. As agriculture being one of the main sources of their livelihood and to sustain their economy, this provides the three-fourths of their population to be accountable to their Gross Domestic Product (GDP). One way of oppressing the poverty and also discrimination which is based on the ‘caste’ system of the young generation of Nepal society which includes; the young girls, men and even children to be involved in various form of forced labor which includes the sex work. The issue of social inequality in Nepal triggers the vulnerability of the country to be involved in the human trafficking issue; there are also other women who voluntarily enter the sex work.

The type of human trafficking, which includes the sex trafficking, as a recent form of slavery and also force labor which will rely from the force and abduction is illegal according to known international organizations. As the United Nations Office defines human trafficking in their Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Article 3, Paragraph A) as:

“…the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the

prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs”.(United Nations, 2000)

In this issue of trafficking of the Nepali women and girls is needed to have a broader background in which will identify the socio-cultural structures, gender power differentials and especially the role of poverty as the number one factor of being pushed through in the issue of human trafficking. The increase of vulnerability of the women and girls into trafficking and sexual abuse made the Nepal as one of the countries with low human development indicators in the transnational setting, which they ranked 143 on the United Nations Human Development Index. According to the Nepalese Youth Opportunity Foundation estimated that there are around 20,000 to 25,000 girls are forced to be domestic workers, while there are over one million Nepali men and women engaged in working abroad in other countries like; the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar, South Korea, Malaysia, India, Israel, the United States and other neighboring countries of Nepal. One thing that Nepali trafficking victims are forced in this kind of labor because of the so-called ‘debt bondage’, in which this is facilitated by high recruitment fees which is charged by the agents in Nepal, while the other type of this is when the agent provides the parents of the victims with a ‘salary advance’. Poverty triggers human trafficking because of the large proportion of the Nepal population living below poverty line, and that most of them only rely on the agricultural livelihood however being a traditional economy is no longer practical for increasing the livelihood and leads to a migration from rural areas instead.

The labor migration as an important part of the social structure is important in Nepal because of the remittances; in which according to the Nepal National Living Standards Survey estimated that there are around 24% of the households in rural areas receive the remittances which mostly came from India, which results an increase of 25% to their total household income. Studies also shown that girls aged in between six to nine years old are already contributing to the labor force. Because of the poverty that they are experiencing Nepali women and girls is attracted to because of the high income in urban areas which in result to them to be easily deceived by the traffickers. Nepal is also experiencing a traditional patriarchal society which means that women are confined to the domestic environment and duties. With this dilemma the women of Nepal have limited access to the different skills, resources, power and opportunities to remain low. Nepali women also have a low status when it comes to the family because males have the primary rights to their properties and making decisions to the family. That is why males prefers that their daughters to be engaged in an early marriage which is probably common in Nepal, which is commonly arranged by the girl’s parents with the groom’s family.

Human trafficking became a highly recognized problem in Nepal especially in particular with the sex trafficking had an increase concern to the Nepali women ad girls was stimulated by the Government of Nepal in order to develop some national policies in order to address the problem of human trafficking. The Traffic in Humans (Control) Act of 1986 was actually passed, in which is focused on the trafficking in line with prostitution, but however the policy was ineffective due to the lack of both the political and judicial procedures. And with the problem regarding the policy it became one of the poorly enforced acts in Nepal. Human trafficking became the priority issue since 1990s by their government and also some of the respective non-government organizations (NGO) and Government Ministries in order to developed different programs regarding the cultural, economic and of course social policies.

B. Rationale and Objectives of the paper

Basically the main reason of conducting this research paper about the social vulnerability of the Nepal in Human Trafficking, in order to know what are the major reasons on why most of their women are being dragged into this certain issue. This paper will also contain the different actions from the Nepal government regarding the social issue of human trafficking and what would be the possible options in order to resolve the problem of their country. Listed below would be the following objectives of the research paper;

Determining the reasons on how relevant the issue is in Nepal

The stakeholder analysis of the said issue

The action from the government of Nepal (laws, policies, etc.)

Conclusion of the researcher about the issue

Policy recommendation of the researcher for implementation in Nepal

Presentation of Background Information About the Issue

In the working paper of Dr. Monique Hennink and Dr. Padam Simkhada about the Sex Trafficking in Nepal: Context and Process (2004), they were able to identify the methods and even the results of social issue, by identifying the following; Characteristics of Sex Trafficked Women/Girls, Routes into Sex Trafficking, Traffickers, Life in Brothels, Process of Exit from Sex Trafficking, and Returning to the Community. It was stated in their research that the characteristic of women or girls who are been trafficked in Nepal are typically the ones who are unmarried, non-literate (either they were not exposed to education or not able to graduate) and of course they are young in the time of trafficking. Hennink and Simkhada were able to specify the age range of 13 to 18 years of the women or girls, they also presented that the youngest age that was been trafficked was a 12 years old and that there were no older than 25 years old. According to their study in Nepal, there are four key routes into sex trafficking that were been identifies and likely to be showed in a conceptual framework. Listed below are the four key routes according to Hennink and Simkhada (2004);

Employment-induced trafficking via a dalal (‘broker’)

Independent migration to urban areas

Deception (through false marriage or visits)

Force (through abduction)

The following routes are interlinked with the independent migration and with trafficking of other purposes, which is mainly for labor exploitation itself, like in the example that they presented in their research paper, that most of the women who are being trafficked mainly knew that the process are first trafficked for employment purposes and later they were introduced to the sex trafficking. Hennink and Simkhada profoundly explained the difference of the four key routes that they presented. In the first route, the connection of the victim and a dalalis this mostly is an old woman who is known as the recruiter or broker. The recruiter would talk to the victims an encourage them to work in urban areas and work in a factory, sometimes women are being sold by the recruiter to the factories before transporting them to a brothel. The second key route which is the migration to urban areas in order to seek for employment was one of the processes in order for them to be more vulnerable in sex trafficking, it is like after being recruited by the dalalis they were asked to work in the factories and they were been assigned to travel in Indian borders because they were asked to run an errand for the factory but actually they were just lured in an offer of false friendship and encouragement to travel, and they did not knew at all that they were being sold to the Indian brothel (India is one of the destination countries where Nepal women or girls are being sexually exploited or trafficked). The third route which is deception includes the false marriage or visits, some dalals (men) posed their selves as potential boyfriends in order to gain the trust of the women (potential victim) by offering them marriage or taking them to India. The last route is abduction, which is the most used route in order to have the victims being directly transported to the brothels, by abducting them and drugged before the journey and then selling them to the brothel owners in India.

The traffickers according to Hennink and Simkhada are the variety people that according to the victims are typically men that are aged in 20s to 30s (dalals) while the older women or (dalalis) are in their 30s to 40s. In some cases the recruiters are actually relatives of the victims like their uncles, aunts, cousins, brothers or stepfathers. And some of the traffickers are women who themselves also are involved in sex work in India, or former sex trafficked women or sex workers who are now they became the brothel managers or owners. Also included in their study is the life of the trafficked women or girls in the brothels, like their experiences and agony in working as sex workers, and the different process of exit from sex trafficking by the means of rescue, escape and release. The return of the victims in their community are mainly because of the help of the rehabilitation centers that were run by the non-government organizations (NGOs) in order to provide the specific health and social assistance to the victims, they also provide literacy and skill training in order to assist them in integrating back to their communities.

Discussion of the Stakeholders

The primary stakeholders that are identified in the social development issue of Nepal about the vulnerability of their country in human trafficking are the following; Nepalese women or girls, Nepal government policymakers, non-government organizations, and traffickers. The Nepalese women and girls are the main stakeholders in the said issue, being the victims of the traffickers who have a large influence in their families and also to their communities they were able to encourage the women and girls to migrate with them, and without the prior knowledge of what they are going to the victims just go with the trafficker because of the promise of fortune by earning a job in urban areas. In the said issue of human trafficking in Nepal, it is like the non-government organizations (NGOs) are more likely involved in helping the victims rather than the government of Nepal, the NGOs are the ones who help the victims from escaping the brothels and helping them to go back to their communities, this effort will make them more influential than the government of Nepal. While the government of Nepal have a propensity of accepting the fact that their country is vulnerable to human trafficking because of the relevance of social inequality being a strict patriarchal society, where the women does not have proper access to education, and that the decision making is only limited to the men.

Analysis

Framework of Analysis

The framework that I have chosen for this certain issue is the Human Rights-Based Approach. I chose this approach because the human rights principles are related to the non-discrimination, equality, empowering the people for participation and providing the accountability of the law. This approach has the capacity for the society to claim their rights. The Rights-Based approach offers certain perspectives and solutions by setting a framework by setting goals and standards for international human rights; it could also recognize the poverty, marginalization of the society or groups, discrimination and exploitation as the means of poverty in a country. The framework of this approach is mainly focused on the obligation of the state by taking care of their vulnerable citizens. Actually this approach is a shift from the needs-based approach to the rights-based approached.

The Framework of Rights-Based Approach (Boesen, & Martin, 2007);

Focuses on the process and outcome

Focuses on the structural causes and manifestations

Emphasizes realization of rights

Recognizes the individual and group rights

Empowers the individuals and groups

Assists the individuals being entitled to their rights

The Rights-Based approach focused in the four focus areas; most vulnerable groups, root causes, right-holders & duty-bearers and empowerment. As seen in the stakeholder analysis there is relevance between inequality between the strict patriarchal system of Nepal and the weakened state of women in their country. The women in this issue are more vulnerable because, they just want to be helpful in their families by working also in the means of migrating from rural to urban areas.

Analysis

The most vulnerable group in the social development issue of Nepal, are the women and girls. Being controlled by a strict patriarchal system, the women or girls does not have access in proper education, making them less participative in decision making. Because of the poverty in the rural areas of Nepal, some the families tends to sent their daughters in urban areas to work in factories and worst is to become a victim of human trafficking, being brought to the Indian borders up to the brothels. Presented below is the table from the working paper of Hennink and Simkhada of April 2004, the Socio-Demographic Characteristics of Sex Trafficked Women and Girls in Nepal;

Percentage

Number

Ethnic Group

Brahmin

Mongoloids

Dalit (Untouchable)

Other

Missing

Total

16.8

34.6

31.6

15.8

0.4

100

34

70

64

32

2

202

Religion

Hindu

Buddhist

Other

Missing

Total

72.7

24.2

2.0

1.0

100

144

48

4

2

198

Marital Status

Unmarried

Married

Other

Missing

Total

59.9

35.6

0.9

3.4

100

121

72

2

7

202

Age (when trafficked)

Under 13

13-15

16-18

19-21

21+

Missing

Total

3.4

30.6

46.5

11.8

3.4

3.9

100

7

62

94

24

7

8

202

Education

No Education

Primary/Informal

Secondary

Missing

Total

77.2

15.3

4.4

2.9

100

156

31

9

6

202

Note: Data from case records of sex-trafficked women at all six rehabilitation centers in Nepal 1996-2001. (Hennink and Simkhada, 2004)

The possible root causes of this social development issue are the following; poverty and social inequality. Poverty because, still Nepal is an undeveloped country in some ways, because of the means of social inequality as well, where they were not able to eradicate the inequality between the men and women in decision making, and the access to the education. The strict patriarchal system in Nepal makes the men powerful in giving decisions in their families and also has the access to the formal education. The Nepalese women tends to stay in their homes and taking care of their children and spouses, but as some women and girls tends to help their families by also working to earn money, and that their only choice is to gamble their life in entering a supposed work in urban areas as factory workers, but in the end they ended up to work in brothels especially when they were abducted and directly transferred to the In Indian borders. The right holders and bearers, are supposed to be the Nepalese women and girls who became victims of the human trafficking, the rehabilitation centers that were founded by the NGOs help them to come back again in their community by providing them skills training and basic education, so that they could be productive when they come back to their respective communities. The Nepal government tends to fail in eliminating the social inequality that is happening in their country, of course they already set up policies and programs to abolish the trafficking problem, but they did not focus on determining the root causes.

With a great number of trafficked Nepalese women and girls, the Nepal needed the proper women empowerment in order to abolish the stern patriarchal system in their country. The equality between the men and women are needed in order to have better results of the decision making, which both of the sexes should benefit and not just one of them would benefit from it. As the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and World Bank promote the empowerment of the marginalized groups, which in this social issue it was the women and girls being undermined from their status in their country.

Conclusion and Recommendations

Conclusion

In conclusion the particular framework failed to explain other areas such as, setting up a new policy that will surely benefit the marginalized people or group besides the empowerment. I think empowerment of the marginalized people is a better first step in order to have a policy about the vulnerability of the Nepalese women and girls, with this there would be a possibility of abolishing the social inequality not just in sexes but also to their classes as well. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which are eight goals that were set during the United Nations (UN) Millennium Summit last September 2000, these goals are set to be achieved by 2015. In the reports of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Nepal is one of the 189 countries that were committed to the MDGs; this is a partnership between the Government of Nepal and the UN Country Team. Actually Nepal is potentially likely to meet the targets such as; decrease in hunger, achieving universal primary education, and of course eliminating the gender disparity during 2005. However according to the same report, it was unlikely for Nepal to meet other targets like the following; achieving of full and productive employment (decent work for all), access to health services and lastly the halving of proportion of their population in order to have access to improved proper sanitation. While in the UNDP report of 2010, they also recommend that Nepal should have a greater focus in reviving their agricultural with the help of some investments in rural infrastructure and public works, in order to create a better environment for the private-sector investments, and to proper utilize the foreign aid.

Recommendation

In this identified issue of social vulnerability basically to the Nepalese women and girls, I would like to recommend that the Nepal government should coordinate with the neighboring countries mainly to the India border, by setting a special task force group that would immediately report about the hotspots or routes of the traffickers, this is a call for the MDG target number eight which will focus to strengthen their global partnership, and will cause them a lot of foreign aid. The government should have a lot of policies to set up, but first they should abolish the social inequality between the males and females, giving livelihood programs to the females in rural areas to lessen the migration and also to eradicate the poverty. The Nepal government should pass a law against the human trafficking and as well to the traffickers by not just putting them in jail, but setting a solid ground in giving justice to the victims. Giving an access to the rural areas in education will also be a great help, especially to the women, and would lessen the issue of inequality. Empowerment of the women by letting them to participate in the decision making, even to the simple decision making in their households, this would not make them feel to be left-out and not special. A tie-up with the NGOs about human rights (NGOs who fought for gender equality, women empowerment and of course anti-human trafficking) and to the government of Nepal so that, hand-in-hand they would be able to lessen the vulnerability of the Nepalese women and girls in human trafficking especially in sexual exploitation purposes.